Understanding your options

Retirement, leaves of absence, changing professions or moving to another province

If you will not be working or using the title "occupational therapist" in Ontario, you have two options – maintain or resign your registration. Carefully review the information below to determine the best option for yourself.

If you will be registering in another jurisdiction, visit our Practising Outside Ontario page. 

Please review the options below before resigning from the College. 

Option 1: Maintain your registration and return to practice at any time during the year.

If you choose to maintain your registration, you must continue to meet all College requirements.

This includes:

• Keeping your COTO Portal profile up to date
• Carrying professional liability insurance
• Meeting the current practice hours requirement,
• Completing your annual Quality Assurance (QA) requirements
• Renewing your registration annually by the May 31 deadline

Option 2: Resign your registration

If you choose to resign, you will no longer be registered with the College.

This means you cannot work as an occupational therapist or use the title “occupational therapist”, “OT”, or the designation “OT Reg. (Ont.)” in Ontario.

If you resign, you will need to reapply to the College and receive a new certificate of registration prior to returning to practice in Ontario. This generally involves submitting the following:

• Online application
• Results of a Vulnerable Sector Check
• Completed Regulatory History Form (if you’ve been registered in another jurisdiction or profession)
• Evidence of 600 occupational therapy practice hours within the past three years
• Evidence of professional liability insurance
• Applicable fees

You do not need to resubmit documentation the College already has on file such as transcripts or exam results. For information on reapplying, visit our Reapply to the College page.

To resign your registration, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the COTO Portal
2. Select “Resign Certificate”
3. Follow the instructions  

Refunds

If you resign your registration between June 1 and the last day of February, a refund will be issued if you meet the following conditions:

• You do not owe money to the College
• You stop practising occupational therapy and resign on or before the following dates:

If you meet the conditions, no action is required to obtain a refund. The refund will be processed at the end of the refund period to the original method of payment. If you paid by online banking, you will be mailed a cheque.

Contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions.